The Chinese breed of chickens called Langshan has long been known among domestic poultry farmers. This breed of chickens was specially grown by Chinese breeders for the production of large quantities of high-quality and tasty meat.
Northern China is considered the birthplace of the Langshan breed, from where it was brought to the territory of Great Britain and Germany in the 1870s.
She was received by crossing the minor and black . From Germany, this breed has spread further around the world.
This breed was brought to Russia 30 years later. With its help, breeders hoped to improve the quality of local purebred chickens, which had completely different ancestors.
Only in 1911, experts from Russia were able to develop a new standard for this breed of chickens.
Now there are two types of Langshan chickens: English moss-legged and German barefoot. The moder-legged birds do not dig at the site, which does not bring additional inconvenience to the owners.
Breed description Langshan
Chickens Langshan have a beautiful appearance. However, they possess good enduranceThat allows them to adapt to any conditions of detention.
In chickens of this breed is very large and high body, carrying a dense muscle mass. In addition, Langshans have the following exterior features:
- The bones of these chickens have increased strength.
- Small, narrow and rounded head.
- Beak moderate length.
- Round and oblong small earrings.
- Neck with a slight bend.
- The tail has the shape of a cone.
- The body is high, elongated, but at the same time quite powerful.
- Convex and wide chest.
- Neck and tail have a thick feather cover.
- The back is wide, has an oval shape, which rises slightly closer to the tail.
- Equal torso width throughout.
- Deep belly with thick plumage.
- The shin is well feathered.
- Long and thin bonded metatarsus with four fingers.
- Chickens are more graceful than roosters, as they are smaller.
- The chickens have more plumage on the lower back.
- Chickens feather long.
An unacceptable disadvantage for all Langshan chickens is any other line of the back than the lyre. Chickens should not have a large head with a large crest.
In addition, chickens with short legs, narrow backs, flat chests and white ducks are rejected. In cocks, the tail braids should not be higher than the tail feathers. Also should be completely absent pillows in the plumage.
Coloring chickens
Breeders managed to derive several possible colors of these chickens. There are white, black and blue Langshan. The latter were obtained after crossing white chickens with black ones.
White birds characterized by white-white feathers. However, they do not contain impurities of other shades and colors. However, cocks of this color may have yellowish feathers. As for the beak and plus, they have a slightly bluish tint. The eyes of these birds are always black.
Black Langshany most often found in domestic poultry farmers. These birds have completely black feathers with a slight green tint. The beak of such Langshanov is also black, and the tarsus and fingers gradually lighten as the birds grow older. Eyes have a brown-gray color.
Blue chickens Langshan breeds are characterized by blue feathers, black beaks and brown-black eyes. In blue roosters, the plumage has a more saturated color than in chickens with paler feathers.
Content and cultivation
The Chinese breed of hens Langshan differs in high quality of meat. It has a pleasant taste, so all poultry farmers like it. With high meat quality, this breed has a high productivity. Chickens grow fairly quickly, and adult roosters can gain a mass of up to 4 kg.
Chickens Langshan unpretentious for the content. They can live in any climatic conditions, and also do not require any additional care. That is why they are well suited for beginner poultry farmers who do not have sufficient experience in keeping chickens.
Unfortunately, in young stock of this breed a deviation from the existing standards of the breed is often observed. For experienced breeders this can be a significant drawback, as it leads to the gradual extinction of Langshans. Beginners or amateur poultry farmers may not pay attention to such deviations.
Egg Incubation
The state of the parent flock always affects the hatching eggs of Langshanov.
And you need to take into account the age of adults, their condition, genetic potential and the overall performance of the herd. After that, it is necessary to take into account the general characteristics of the egg: the thickness, integrity and purity of the shell.
Also on the state of hatching eggs may affect the location of the nests, the quality of storage and sorting of eggs, disinfection. If one of these stages was performed incorrectly, the Langshanov eggs could suffer.
To avoid problems with unproductive offspring, experienced bird breeders immediately select eggs. In no case should the eggs be incubated with a thin shell with roughness or cracks. Such eggs should be immediately rejected. In addition to these eggs, you can not use those that were torn down on the floor.
When the eggs are properly selected, you can begin to monitor the temperature. It must be remembered that Langshanov eggs weakly withstand sudden changes in temperature. This is especially true of the winter period when eggs and day-old chicks die.
Care for the young
Despite the fact that the hens of the Langshan breed are quite unpretentious and can be kept in any conditions, the poultry farmer must understand that the performance of the parent flock directly depends on the correct maintenance.
Like the rest of the breeds, Langshanov chickens are considered the most vulnerable. That is why they need to pay the maximum amount of attention. In order for chickens to grow healthy and hardy, the farm owner needs to select eggs for incubation only in healthy and strong individuals.
The fact is that the weak and sick Langshans will never be able to produce high-quality young, giving good meat performance.
If only a professional can monitor the health of the chickens, then a newbie in the breeding of Langshanov can easily monitor the condition of the litter and the trough. Most often the young suffers from stagnant water and wet bedding.
It is imperative to ensure that the chicks do not overturn the tanks with water, because due to the constant high humidity, mold quickly grows on the floor. You can use dry sand with large grains of sand, grass and sawdust as bedding for chicks of Langshanov.
Do not forget about the proper nutrition of small chickens. They should get everything they need for rapid growth and weight gain. If the young growth lacks any microelement, then it starts to affect their health and growth rate.
The diet of chickens must change as they get older. In the first days after hatching, Langshan chickens should be given corn grits mixed with crushed egg shells.
After that, they can be fed wheat cereal. At the same time, multivitamins can be added to the diet to maintain the health of the chicken at the right level, which can be purchased at any veterinary pharmacy. Instead of water, chickens are usually given a decoction of chamomile to strengthen the immune system from the first days of life.
For adult birds
Adult Langshans are considered to be chickens that have reached puberty. This breed puberty comes on 18-23 week of life. To achieve this age, young roosters and hens are planted in one chicken coop.
If the cockerels show aggression, then they need to slightly trim the beak. For these purposes, you can call a specialist who correctly disinfects the bird's beak, which will prevent the occurrence of infection.
Feed cocks and chickens in one henhouse should be from separate feeders. This allows the owner Langshanov to regulate the growth of muscle mass in both sexes. Sometimes it happens that cockerels are lagging behind because of the weathered means, and the hens - on the contrary. In this case, the cocks need to be additionally fed, otherwise the adult bird will not gain the desired weight.
Also worth taking into account the size of roosters and chickens. Too large individuals should always be removed from the parent flock, otherwise a large rooster may injure a smaller chicken during mating, and this will negatively affect the fertilization process.
That is why the owners Langshanov should monitor the behavior of roosters. This breed does not have a very large reproductive potential, and so it can only get worse.
Specifications
Roosters breed Langshan able to gain weight from 3.5 to 4 kg. As for the chickens, their live weight varies in the range from 3 to 3.5 kg. In one year, each layer of breed Langshan can carry up to 100-110 eggs. On average, each egg, which has a brownish-yellow color of the shell with small brown patches, weighs 56 g.
Where can I buy in Russia?
- Unfortunately, Langshan chickens are becoming rare. However, it is still possible to purchase young stock of this breed or eggs on the farm "Pticaillage"which is located in the Yaroslavl region.
The poultry farm is located just 140 km from Moscow in an ecologically clean region. Here you can also purchase adult birds for breeding on a private farm. More details about the proposals of the farm can be found on their website www.ptica-village.ru or call +7 (916) 795-66-55.
- Also selling chickens and eggs of Langshan breed chickens is a chicken farm located in the village Kurkurovo in the Moscow region.
A farm can sell both Langshan eggs, chickens, and adults. The cost of the bird can be found on the website www.kurkurovo.ru or by phone +7 (985) 200-70-00.
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Among meat chickens, the most similar to the breed is Langshan Plymouth Rock. Chickens of this breed have a massive body with thick plumage. Feathers tight to the body allow the birds to withstand severe cold. They, like Langshans, have good meat with high nutritional value.
However, their productivity is much higher.
Plymouth brooks can carry up to 180 eggs per year, while Langshan is only 100-110 eggs. It is for this reason that this breed of chickens will suit novice bird breeders who wish to acquire an impressive number of chickens in a short time.
Another breed that can be made instead of Langshanov is Brama. Chickens of this breed have a very large body that can hold massive muscle mass. They get along well in the Russian climate, so they are well suited even for private estates. In addition, they do not need constant walking, which requires a large garden area.
Chickens of Brahma carry up to 160 eggs per year, so one can say that they have better reproductive potential than Langshans. At the same time, the weight of a rooster can reach 5 kg with proper fattening.
Conclusion
Hans of Langshan breed are less and less common with breeders and private farmers every year. This breed is gradually losing its relevance due to low reproductive potential, however, breeders-professionals continue to grow this breed in order to save the gene pool.
As a profitable meat chicken is better to use Brama or Plymouth. But experienced bird builders can try their hand at keeping Langshans.
